horrors. Every contrivance of governments, from the
Emperor Napoleon to our own Chancellors of the
Exchequer, had failed to put down contraband traffic at
home; and the attempt was yet more Quixotical upon
the vast and distant coast of Africa. The endeavour
had already cost us twenty-five millions, was maintained
at a cost of £700,000 or £800,000 per annum, and had
monopolised the services of fully one-fourth the whole
British navy afloat. But the system was worse than
merely expensive—it was fatal, cruel, and anomalous,
obliging us to use methods equally violent, inadequate,
and involving a perpetual risk of war with other nations,
who did not sympathise with our object, while they resented
our assumption of a right to interfere with their commerce.
—Mr. BAILLIE, in seconding the motion, ridiculed the
ludicrous boasting, year after year, of making treaties
with the Republic of the equator, the Shah of Persia,
and the African king, "Billy."—Mr. LABOUCHERE
opposed the motion, and said that if the house agreed
to it the people of England would call them to a strict
and well-merited account for having entirely misinterpreted
their feelings and wishes. Sir Charles Hotham
had been called as a witness for the motion: yet no
person had more strongly insisted on the "degradation
to this country" which must follow the withdrawal of
our squadron; and in a sense worthy of his high personal
character, he had also declared, that "in a case of that
description honour and interest would, to a certain
extent, go together." He expressed a belief that if the
squadron were withdrawn, smaller slave-vessels would
be used, and the sufferings of the slave increased. No
doubt, the question of expenditure was not to be
overlooked, though the people of this country would not,
from that motive alone, consent to relinquish their most
cherished hopes; but when it was said £700,000 a year
will be saved, was it meant that we should not leave
a ship in those seas for the protection of the great,
thriving, and increasing legitimate trade, on the fostering
of which is based our best reliance for the ultimate
success of our great undertaking? It could be
demonstrated that if the squadron is withdrawn the traffic will
spring up into full operation, replunge Africa into scenes
of blood and horror, and at once extinguish every
spark of civilisation and improvement, which he trusted
might by and by grow into a flame to warm and
enlighten that country. The treaties with the native
chiefs had been alluded to with levity. There was at
this moment a fairer prospect of success from that source
than for many years. The Republic of Liberia, under
the intelligent and able guidance of President Roberts,
was not only establishing its own peaceful relation
through treaties with neighbouring tribes, but extending
its territories and replacing the slave-trade by the
occupations of commerce and industry. A commissioner
would this very month go out to negotiate relations
with the Court of Dahomey. Our purchase of the
Danish forts in Africa would much control the slave
traffic in the Bight of Benin. It might be anticipated
that the whole coast from the North down to Whydah
will in a short time be rescued from the horrors of the
slave-trade.—Mr. LABOUCHERE dwelt on the effect of
opening the slave-market to Cuba and Brazil on our
own sugar-producing colonies. It would be impossible
to choose a more unfortunate moment for enabling their
foreign rivals to obtain an unlimited supply of labour
than the present, when the great complaint of the
colonists is that they find it exceedingly difficult to
obtain labour at a reasonable cost. He took it for
granted that the house did not mean to revive the
slave-trade in favour of the colonies themselves, either
ostensibly or under any guise or pretence of immigration.
At present, our colonies were in the course of
a revival. In Jamaica, British Guiana, Trinidad, and
Antigua, the produce of 1847-8 had been a considerable
increase of that of 1845-6: there really seemed a
well-founded hope that they would recover from their
distress if no such measure as this interrupt them: but
if the slave-trade is thrown unchecked into the hands
of their foreign rivals, the cultivation of sugar will be
rendered impossible in our colonies. He did not ask the
house to vote that for an indefinite period the squadron
should be maintained: if any gentlemen were
sanguine enough to believe that the slave-trade could be
suppressed by any other means, they should suggest them.
—Mr. GLADSTONE entered into a minute detail of the
existing states of the colonies, and of our relationship
with foreign countries, deducing from the various statements
the conclusion that our repressive policy had
turned out unsuccessful in every point of view, and had
moreover tended to retard the adoption of a more humane
system among the Brazilian and other slaveholding
nations.—Lord John RUSSELL characterised the motion
as a summons to reverse, at the opening of a new half
century, the system which had won so many triumphs
for humanity during the past fifty years. France and
the United States had observed the treaties which they
had signed in relation to this traffic with perfect
fidelity; and if we now withdrew we should render
ourselves utterly powerless to restrain the sailing of
slave-ships over every sea. He wished not to pledge the
legislature to a total abstinence of interference in the
management or constitution of the blockading squadron,
but only to the principle that the marine force should
not be withdrawn without some sufficient substitute in
the way of repression. Against the alleged increase in
the sufferings of the negroes during the middle passage
caused by the presence of our cruisers, he placed the
probability that the slaves would be far worse treated—
would be "used up " faster in Brazil or Cuba, if their
value as property were diminished. After an elaborate
detail of other evils that would spring from the adoption
of the resolution—the loss of honour to England and of
civilisation to Africa; the possible consequences of
swamping Brazil with a multitudinous importation of
negroes; the resulting increase in the mass of human
misery; the subsequent competition against our own
colonists as cultivators of sugar,—Lord J. Russell
repeating his declaration, that great progress was in reality
being made by our prosecution of the blockade, that
European opinion was far more enlightened upon the
subject than in earlier years, and that a strong
remonstrance by England, France, and America, would now
have great weight with Spain and Brazil, he remarked
severely upon the conduct of Mr. Hutt's committee. As
a last answer to the question, what, under all
circumstances, will you now do for the suppression of the
trade, he would say "I will not despond." Characterising
the course proposed by the nation as "dastardly,"
he concluded with the expression of his belief that if
England abandoned the holy career in which she was
engaged, she could no longer expect the blessing of
heaven. The other speakers were: for the motion,
Lord H. VANE, Mr. G. BERKELEY, and Lord R.
GROSVENOR; against it, Mr. CARDWELL, Sir George
PECHELL, and Sir R. INGLIS. The motion was
negatived by 232 to 154.

On Monday, the 20th, on the commital of the Larceny
Summary Jurisdiction Bill, Mr. LAW moved a
resolution for limiting the provisions of the bill as regarded
punishment to offenders, of age not exceeding sixteen
years, but extending to offenders of every age the
summary power of the justices to liberate upon bail,
provided the amount of larceny should not exceed one
shilling. A prolonged discussion ensued, turning chiefly
on the question how far it was prudent to remove criminal
charges out of the jurisdiction of juries. The house
then divided; for the amendment 124, against it 54.

The Australian Government Bill was considered in
committee on the 22nd. The second clause gave rise to
a discussion as to the policy of giving to the crown the
nomination of one-third of the members of the legislative
council; and, at length, Mr. MOWATT moved the omission
of such portion of the clause as left to her Majesty
the nomination of one-third part of the number of the
members of the legislative council.—The amendment
was negatived by 165 to 77.—Mr. WALPOLE then moved
the omission of the second clause, and to substitute instead
thereof the following proviso: "And be it enacted that
there shall be within each of the said colonies of New
South Wales and Victoria, a legislative council and
representative assembly." After a discussion, consisting
chiefly of a repetition of arguments previously used,
Mr. Walpole's amendment was negatived by 198 to 147.

On Monday, the 25th, the CHANCELLOR of the
EXCHEQUER stated that he had come to the conclusion
that the Repeal of the Brick Duty should take effect